Media outlets access enhanced multi-platform content at no charge, with alerts when we have new content on issues or from regions you may select. Once we receive the filled out form below, you'll receive a message with the passcode/s. Welcome!

*These fields are required

*Media Outlet name

*Media Outlet City/State

Contact name

Contact phone

*Email address or fax #

*Media Outlet type

Additional (beyond the state you are located in) content that you would like to receive

Newscasts

PNS Daily Newscast - March 21, 2019

The nation’s acting Defense Secretary is under investigation for promoting Boeing, his former employer. Also on the Thursday rundown: The Trump administration’s spending blueprint being called a “bully budget.” Plus, a call for the feds to protect consumers from abusive lenders.

Millennials Bring Joy to Sick Children

Maryland college students dress as superheroes to entertain sick children. (lym.org)

December 21, 2016

ANNAPOLIS, Md. – A company that started as a class project for two college students has expanded into a community service effort for more than 12,000 students at nearly 800 college campuses across the country. Zachary Quinn and Brian Keller were students at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, when they launched "Love Your Melon." The idea was to provide beanies and baseball caps for local children with cancer, but it was so successful they started a company, with half of the profits going to pediatric cancer research.

National events director Alex Meysman, said college students go to hospitals dressed up in Superhero costumes to deliver the caps to the kids.

"And then they get to bring them in and go room to room and do arts and crafts, with the kids, I mean, this can go from having a little music show or some kind of play, all the way up to having a celebrity come in and perform for these kids," he explained.

In the last four years, Love Your Melon has provided more than 86,000 hats to children with cancer and raised more than $1.5 million for cancer research. The beanies are made by Minnesota Knitting Mills, and the baseball caps are made in Denver.

Love Your Melon campus chapters are in Maryland including at Loyola, St. Mary's and the University of Maryland.

Meysman said college students have embraced the idea of helping the children.

"It's these college students that we don't recruit, they come to us and say, 'Hey, I'd like to start a college campus crew, and I want to personally get my friends involved so that we can promote your message and then personally help the children that are in our community that are battling cancer and their family,'" he said.

Meysman also said that it's mostly about the kids, but it's also teaching the millennials who volunteer their time something very valuable.

"We're taking these college students and developing them as leaders of tomorrow and showing them that anything is possible, especially when you're trying to do something for somebody else, being selfless," he added.

Meysman said Love Your Melon has been so successful that most of their products online have sold out since Cyber Monday.